The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday afternoon that Lois Lerner, who heads up the Internal Revenue Service’s tax-exempt division, plans to invoke the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in a hearing Wednesday before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Affairs.
The Fifth Amendment provides that U.S. citizens may not be compelled to offer testimony if telling the truth would incriminate them.
Lerner’s defense lawyer, William W. Taylor III, wrote to the committee on Tuesday that his client would refuse to answer questions related to what she knew about the extra levels of scrutiny applied to conservative nonprofit organizations that applied for tax-exempt status beginning in 2010.
She also will decline to say why she didn’t disclose what she knew to Congress, according to the LA Times.
Lerner ‘has not committed any crime or made any misrepresentation,’ Taylor’s letter read, ‘but under the circumstances she has no choice but to take this course.’
He is asking the oversight committee to excuse Lerner from testifying, claiming that calling her in a congressional hearing would ‘have no purpose other than to embarrass or burden her’ since members would not expect her to answer questions.
More at the Daily Mail
Obama’s Administrators hate the 1st Amendment as seen by putting a video maker in prison on a trumped up charge when his real crime was only against Sharia Law; insulting the ”prophet.”
Also as seen by IRS demanding pro-life promise to never assemble to protest.
Obama’s Administrators hate the 2nd Amendment as seen by their twisting every chance they get into an excuse to grab guns.
Obama’s Administrators love the 5th Amendment and will probably be using it quite extensively in the near future.
if she doesn’t answer questions,
mean she is guilty as hell, and as a leader she should go to prison,
some of the stupid questions sent to the TEA PARTY AND THE OTHER TARGETED GROUPS, tell us that
the IRS is full of MUSLIMS they ask of religion,
and other is very clear to us,
it make the outrage even more criminal,
THE GOOD AMERICANS BEING QUESTION BY FOREIGNERS
even if they have their AMERICAN IMMIGRATED PAPERS,
they are not AMERICANS yet,
IT TAKE GENERATIONS TO CLAIM AND UNDERSTAND
WHAT IS AN REAL AMERICAN,
one that doesn’t back away from questioning by the ELECTED
with courage to admit the wrong they have done to the PATRIOTIC AMERICANS , so to cover the corruption
and the leader who incited the HATE AND DIVIDE of the NATION, he has done wrong by inciting his appointed agencies leaders to the same HATE AND DIVIDE,
for them to use their given powers to hassel and deliberately question as a third degree to the good CITIZENS
because of the demands from the LEADER to desperately win his framed election. as he had said to must win at any cost,
it sure did cost the TEA PARTY AND OTHER a lot ,
and that must be reemburse to them.
She sort of took the 5th.
First she gave HER side of the story.
THEN she answered a couple of questions for the committee.
THEN she started to clam up by invoking the 5th.
The committee is allowing her to leave BUT they are going to consider legal advice as to whether she waived her 5th Amendment right by answering some questions as well as giving her side of the story.
We will see.
@Nan G:
Trey Gowdy said that she had already waved her 5th due to making a statement prior to taking the 5th. Gowdy, a former federal prosecuting attorney should know. No, she doesn’t get to declare her innocense in any claimed, or perceived, wrongdoing or the violation of any law, and then take the 5th. I think Gowdy is of the opinion that she should have invoked the 5th right out of the gate.
retire05
I like Trey Gowdy ,he is right to the point always,
I think he would have love to QUESTION her